What are the most-searched recipes in America? A new analysis from Escoffier revealed some insights into the top ten most-searched recipes across the country.
To determine the most sought-after recipes, Escoffier analyzed search volume using Ahrefs; we then further explored our findings using data from Google Trends, Allrecipes, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Federal Reserve, and a major retailer to reveal additional insights.
But before we dive into our results, and the methodology we used to obtain them, let’s have a glance at some of the key findings. (Jump down to see our methodology)
America’s Most-Searched Recipes – Key Findings
- Banana bread was by far the most-searched recipe, with nearly two-thirds greater search volume than meatloaf, the second-place recipe.
- Vermont appears to be the foodiest state, as it appears in the top five states for eight of the ten recipes – placing first for two of them.
- People seem to search for main dishes more than any other type of recipe, with four of the ten top recipes falling into that category.
America’s Top Ten Most-Searched Recipes
1. Banana Bread
Average search volume (past year): 672,000
Category: Dessert
Average cost per serving: $0.23
Top five most interested states:
- Alaska
- Montana
- Vermont
- Wyoming
- Maine
Banana bread was far and away the most-searched recipe in the United States; every single month, roughly 1 in 500 Americans searches for a banana bread recipe. (Think about that next time you’re stuck in line at the airport.) It’s no wonder this recipe has such wide appeal—it’s sweet, rich, relatively inexpensive, and easy to make (as far as baking projects go). Alaska was the state with the highest relative interest in this recipe.
Banana bread is, far and away, the most searched for recipe online.
2. Meatloaf
Average search volume (past year): 410,000
Category: Main Dish
Average cost per serving: $1.34
Top five most interested states:
- West Virginia
- Vermont
- Maine
- South Dakota
- Wyoming
Meatloaf may be the ultimate comfort food. According to our analysis, it’s the most sought-after main dish recipe by a wide margin, too, garnering 10% greater search volume than chili, the next entry on the list. With a forgiving recipe that allows for wide-ranging variations, meatloaf is a popular recipe all over the country.
3. Chili
Average search volume (past year): 373,000
Category: Main Dish
Average cost per serving: $2.92
Top five most interested states:
- Colorado
- Vermont
- Wyoming
- Montana
- Kentucky
Another hearty entree that invites variations and creativity, chili placed third in terms of average search volume. Interest in this recipe shifted west, with states like Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana ranking highly—though Vermont and Kentucky rounded out the top five, indicating the broad appeal of this dish that combines heat, flavor, and comfort in a single bowl.
Chili is a popular search in some of the country’s coldest states!
4. Pancakes
Average search volume (past year): 351,000
Category: Breakfast
Average cost per serving: $0.17
Top five most interested states:
- Vermont
- Montana
- Alaska
- Utah
- Maine
Placing fourth were pancakes, easily beating out their breakfast rival french toast (which ranked sixth on the list); perhaps this could be chalked up to the fact that pancakes are slightly less expensive to make, or that French toast often involves somewhat stale bread, which not everyone has on hand. Vermont, the maple syrup capital of the country, appropriately placed first here.
5. Chocolate Chip Cookies
Average search volume (past year): 342,000
Category: Dessert
Average cost per serving: $0.23
Top five most interested states:
- Montana
- Alaska
- Idaho
- Vermont
- Wyoming
It will not surprise anyone to learn that chocolate chip cookies are the most-searched cookie recipe in America—though not the most popular dessert; recipes for these delicious cookies only had about half the search volume as banana bread recipes. Interestingly, Montana and Alaska placed 1-2 for banana bread as well, suggesting these two large, sparsely populated states may share a sweet tooth.
Second only to banana bread among deserts, chocolate chip cookies remain a sought-after classic.
6. French Toast
Average search volume (past year): 306,000
Category: Breakfast
Average cost per serving: $0.23
Top five most interested states:
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Alaska
- Utah
Montana, Alaska, and Utah appear to be equal-opportunity breakfast lovers, as they place in the top five for french toast as well as for pancakes. Meanwhile, Vermont did not crack the top five for this recipe, indicating that residents of the Green Mountain State have a clear preference when it comes to indulgent breakfasts.
7. Lasagna
Average search volume (past year): 269,000
Category: Main Dish
Average cost per serving: $2.83
Top five most interested states:
- Vermont
- Maine
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
- North Dakota
Lasagna has the distinction of being the highest-latitude recipe on the list—frigid Wisconsin was the southernmost state among the top five most interested—which makes sense for such a rich, filling pasta dish.
8. Alfredo Sauce
Average search volume (past year): 195,000
Category: Main Dish
Average cost per serving: $1.47
Top five most interested states:
- Wyoming
- Alaska
- Idaho
- Montana
- Utah
Alfredo sauce was also popular among cold-weather states—particularly those around the Rocky Mountains—indicating that this hearty pasta sauce has a particular appeal to high-altitude Americans.
States you don’t normally think of as being especially Italian top the list of searchers for alfredo sauce.
9. Margarita
Average search volume (past year): 183,000
Category: Cocktail
Average cost per serving: $2.18
Top five most interested states:
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- District of Columbia
- Rhode Island
Margaritas appear to be particularly popular in New England, with four of the top five most interested states located in that region—perhaps because people in the Northeast are looking for some south-of-the-border flavor to get them through their cold winters?
10. Old Fashioned
Average search volume (past year): 182,000
Category: Cocktail
Average cost per serving: $1.86
Top five most interested states:
- West Virginia
- Montana
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Vermont
Rounding out the list was another cocktail: the OId Fashioned, which was only slightly less popular than the Margarita. It received the most interest from West Virginia—perhaps owing to the fact that the state borders Kentucky, the rumored birthplace of the cocktail (and third-ranking state on the list).
The old fashioned’s bourbon content may have something to do with its popularity in Kentucky.
Methodology, Sources & Notes
To obtain these findings, we first used the SEO platform Ahrefs to determine the top ten most-searched recipes in the United States from October 2023-October 2024.
Once we had determined the search volume, we used Google Trends to identify the top five states expressing the most interest in each recipe. (See Notes below for commentary on the significance and limitations of this approach.)
To determine the cost per serving for each recipe, we selected the single most popular recipe on Allrecipes for each of the ten entries, then used pricing data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve (or, where no governmental data was available, from Walmart).
Notes
Google Trends ranks states based on their interest in a search term relative to all other searches originating in that state. When a state ranks first—for example, when Alaska ranks first for banana bread—this means that Alaska was the state where searches for “banana bread” made up the largest share of all web searches originating in the state. As such, these rankings should not be interpreted to mean that a given state was the state with the highest search volume for a particular recipe.
For this reason, this analysis may have a slight bias toward states with smaller populations, as there is likely to be a smaller range of search terms originating within the state—creating the opportunity for more common searches (like recipe searches) to rank more highly.
This analysis reveals regional and national trends in recipe searches, highlighting the fact that, despite cultural differences across different parts of the country, a shared love of food remains something that will always bring people together.
